Preparing for Remote Data Collection

The steps involved in preparing for remote data collection are different from the steps in preparing for a field survey. At each stage of this process, everyone involved in the data collection (government agencies, survey firm, enumerators) must communicate clearly. The research team must carefully work through certain additional steps before conducting a remote survey.

Read First

• Remote surveys are useful for collecting data in cases where field surveys are either to expensive, or not possible due to lack of in-person access to respondents.
• As one might expect, the logistics of conducting a remote survey are different from those for a field survey.
• Among the different kinds of remote surveys, researchers consider phone surveys more efficient because they retain the component of human interaction.
• We will look at the steps involved in preparing for phone surveys.
• DIME Analytics has compiled a guide on transitioning to phone surveys in cases where field data collection is not possible due to pandemics or natural disaster.

Updates to Survey Timeline

The first step of the transition should be to update the survey timeline. When you transition to a phone survey, each step leading up to, and including, the data collection will take additional time. You must make sure you account for this time, and allocate a reasonable window for each step.

Additional IRB Approvals

If the project has any existing IRB approval(s), you will need to submit an amendment to each IRB, and receive approval for each of the following changes:

• Requirement of oral consent
• Adding audio audits to the survey
• Changes in the survey instrument
• Addition of any team members handling PII data
• Changes to incentives provided to respondents

While most IRBs are cognizant of the current crisis and are fast-tracking amendments, you should allocate enough time for the IRB amendment to come through before you can (re)start data collection.

If your project does not have an IRB approval yet, we recommend that you apply to an IRB immediately.

Updates to Procurement-related Documents

In cases where the survey firm has been procured by the World Bank, your team will have to make certain changes to procurement-related documents. This includes updates to the:

1. Survey firm TOR
   Make sure you update the survey terms of reference (TOR) and the survey firm’s technical proposal to include all relevant changes in protocols viz. mode of data collection, change in survey duration, change in timeline, and so on.
2. Survey budget / proposal
   The survey firm conducting the data collection should submit an updated budget accounting for the changes in costs as a result of the transition - including equipment, incentives, and survey costs.

In case additional funds need to be disbursed by the survey firm, the contract will have to be modified. This typically requires approval from the organization funding the survey firm, or from Corporate Procurement in the case of World Bank funding.

Update the Survey Instrument

You may have to radically overhaul the survey instrument, in order to meet the following requirements:

• Keep the survey short.

It’s absolutely essential to keep the survey super short and the maximum length of a survey can not be over 40 minutes. The average survey length should not be greater than 20 minutes.

Note that reducing the length of a survey takes considerable amount of time. Make sure to account for this in the timeline update. You can try the following to reduce survey length:

Drop modules which can not be asked over phone (for example GPS coordinates) Identify the most essential outcomes of interest and keep questions related to these outcomes

• Ask about aggregates instead of individual items.

For example, an in-person consumption module which goes over 25 individual items should be cut down in a phone survey to as few categories as possible (such as durable items, food, etc). When aggregating it is essential to define what items fall under which category and this should be made clear to the respondent during the survey.

• Break the survey into 2 or 3 shorter surveys.

You can do this if key outcomes of interest can not be measured in one survey. However, you must remember to account for differential attrition across these instruments as all respondents may not complete the entire set of surveys.

1. Update the consent to a verbal consent.
   A short and easy to understand verbal consent should be included in the survey. This should also inform the participants about the audio audits.

• Add identifiers at the start of the survey.

This helps to ensure the correct respondent is interviewed.

• Collect as many telephone numbers as possible.

This is particularly helpful in case you are planning a follow-up survey.

• Make the questions as concise and clear as possible.

Add hints and definitions throughout.

• Code and repeatedly test the updated survey for electronic data collection
• Program in audio audits as a data quality check

This adds an additional layer of check on data quality, which is necessary for such a drastic transition in the method of data collection.

Update Data Collection Protocols

The majority of the protocols set up for in-person data collection will need to be revised. Make sure allocate enough time for these updates to be put in place. These changes are as essential as the survey instrument updates. You will have to either change the following protocols, or confirm that they still work in the new context:

Set up of the team

Ensure that the set up of the survey team is such that there are not too many enumerators reporting to 1 supervisor (no more than 5). You should consider adding more supervisors if needed (remember, you’re already saving on budget with no travel to the field!)

Hiring

If you require to hire enumerators/supervisors, make sure to hire locally and find candidates who have previous enumeration experience.

Survey manuals

The survey manuals will have to go through a detailed update to ensure it accounts for all changes put in place. See here an example of survey protocols from Tavneet Suri’s Kenya UBI project.

Procuring equipment.

Additional equipment will ideally have to be procured and made available to the enumerators. This includes, telephone or mobile devices, SIM Cards, money to recharge SIM cards, tablets/computers to enter data on, and internet access for all parts of the process - from training to sharing data.

Communication within the team

Decide with your team about communication flows within the team. This should include details about :

• who is the first point of contact for each person in the team’ (for all enumerators, supervisors, and above)
• how enumerators will be provided with the sample they have to call on a daily basis
• who will ensure enumerators have enough phone credit to call respondents
• what data will the enumerators submit on a daily basis (or a regular previously decided upon frequency)
• how will enumerators share the data collected (submit forms at the end of each day)
• who will monitor enumerator performance (e.g. number of phone calls completed per day)
• how will issues identified in the data quality checks be conveyed to the enumerators
• whom the enumerator should reach out to in case of any questions or if a respondent requests an escalation. It often works well to create a WhatsApp group with all enumerators to stay connected
• Always have a plan B (and C) in place in case the decided upon plan fails for any reason (like connectivity issues)
• Tracking sheets

Tracking sheets become a more crucial component during phone surveys. These should be created as a digital survey form the enumerator fills in as we can not share printed sheets on a daily basis. A tracking sheet should be provided to each enumerator to be able to track

Respondent details
Updated contact numbers 
Status of survey
Call back time in case respondent was unavailable
Number of attempts 
Time of each attempt
       

Special situations

Someone other than the respondent answers. Create a protocol which directs the enumerator on this front. The enumerator can try to get other contact numbers the respondent can be reached on, take an appointment at a time the respondent will be available, if the enumerator can survey another member if the respondent is still not available, or to replace the respondent.

• Appointments.

Very often respondents are not available to speak when an enumerator calls. A protocol can be put in place to allow respondents to provide times they are available to talk at and to ensure that the enumerator calls the respondent at the time of the appointment.

• Replacement of respondent.

Put in place a protocol for how many attempts an enumerator should make to reach a respondent before the respondent is replaced. It is also essential to think about how far apart these attempts should be from one another to be able to catch the respondent at a time they are free to speak. Example of a good protocol is 9 attempts with maximum of 3 attempts per day and each attempt spread at least 3 hours apart.

Data quality checks

The data quality checks that will be run, the frequency of running the same, and how the results will be communicated to the teams should be decided on before any data collection starts.

Ensuring data security

A data security protocol should be put in place to try and ensure no data is lost. This includes encrypting the survey form and providing guidelines to enumerators about how to share data. Create a confidentiality agreement that each enumerator signs (digitally) in an effort to ensure the respondent contact numbers do not get used for any other purposes.

(Re)Train the enumerators

The survey team will have to be extensively trained on the protocols, the survey instrument, and ways to keep the team engaged. This is one of the most challenging tasks as there is no way to get the entire survey team together and conduct an in-person training. The training has to be done virtually, and you will need to be innovative with multiple alternative plans for training the enumerators. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when designing the training.

Logistics

• Have smaller groups of enumerators for the training.

If there are many enumerators break them down into smaller manageable groups (typically 5) to make it easier to conduct the training.

• Use a calling platform like Skype, Zoom, Webex.

Depending on bandwidth, try to conduct the training using video to provide some sense of personal connection. If a live virtual training is not possible, consider alternatives such as recorded videos and phone calls.

You can record the training and share with enumerators for future use or in case they missed parts of the training due to connectivity issues. Also, be sure to allocate more time in the training schedule for these additional steps, or in case things go wrong.

Content

• Provide the team with a detailed training manual (example here). You should have a detailed script for the entire survey instrument(s) so the enumerators know how to ask the questions.
• Create recordings of test interviews. You can then use these for the training.
• Conduct more mock interviews during virtual training than you would in an in-person training
• Include content on how to probe respondents on each question
• Train the enumerators to answer potential questions the respondents might ask. These can be questions about the project, the design, the purpose of the interview, on each question, or anything else.
• Include suggestions on how to keep respondents engaged during the interview. Some examples include

Building on established rapport between enumerator and respondent Compensating respondents via mobile money or airtime if feasible Including the expected survey duration in the consent form. Attempting to answer each question of the respondent as comprehensively as possible Being inquisitive and kind with the respondent Offering to escalate to the manager in case of any issue